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Citizenship blossoms in planting of garden

By Kori Tuitt, ktuitt@lowellsun.com

Updated:
07/30/2016 08:21:32 AM EDT

David Dooks, right, and incoming ninth-grader Noah Horn sow seeds in Tewksbury Memorial High School s new handicapped-accessible garden. Dooks teaches for the summer progression program for special-education students.
SUN PHOTOS BY KORI TUITT

TEWKSBURY -- After three weeks of hard work, Tewksbury Memorial High School celebrated the completion of its handicapped-accessible garden Wednesday.

Cynthia Basteri, summer-school director and grant writer for the school system, said this is a grant-supported program involved more than of 50 students in the summer credit-recovery program.

"The students themselves came up with the idea to build this garden addition that is accessible to those folks who might be in a wheel chair, or can't bend over," Basteri said.

The high-school students created raised garden beds to accompany the school's existing garden. Produce from the garden is used for the school's cafeteria and donated to the Tewksbury Community Pantry.

Tewksbury Memorial High School students work to design and build a handicapped-accessible garden as part of their summer-school curriculum. The raised garden beds make it easier for those in wheelchairs to access the planting beds.

The project was thought up by the high schoolers with special-education students from the Life Skills program in mind.

"Definitely the most rewarding part of this is seeing the kids happy doing this -- the best part of doing this whole thing," said Dylan Alves, an 18-year-old incoming senior.

Catherine McVey, a 17-year-old incoming senior at TMHS, said this project has made her summer school experience much more enjoyable.

"I think it's a really good thing to do and I had a lot of fun doing it," Catherine said.

The project was facilitated by Janet Gordon, an environmental science teacher at the high school.

"I think we hope they recognize that they're part of a larger community," Gordon said.

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"They can work with a partner and serve a need."

The project is part of the school's quality service learning program, which combines community service and academic learning. The students also learned about the biology of plants, how to craft a press release and used math to calculate the dimensions of the garden. Basteri said this type of learning is becoming the trend in the Department of Education.

For David Dooks, the teacher of the summer progression program for special education students, this was an exceptional learning experience not only for his students, but for the "traditional students."

"I think it's really important for these students especially to understand that a lot of these kids I work with are in their classroom, separated from the more traditional students," Dooks said.

The garden will be useful to the Life Skills students who sell lunches to faculty members during the school year.

"It makes me happy to see this interaction, whereas 20 years ago there was a stigma attached to special education," Dooks said. "Everyone has something to offer. Everyone has a unique special gift that needs to be honored."

The project is a collaboration of the efforts of both high school and middle school students. Now that the garden is built, students at the John W. Wynn Middle School will be researching and writing up recipes to present to the Tewksbury Community Pantry.

"These students are going to be planting the seeds, and no pun intended, enjoy the fruits of their labor," Basteri said. "You have a vision and you think it's going to be great -- but the reality is much better than the vision."

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